4 minute read
FESTIVALS WITHOUT BORDERS
WITH ROBERT BAIRD
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
And now we find ourselves in a “whole new world” as the pandemic apparently comes to an end with the news that President Biden has announced his intention to terminate the national emergency concerning the COVID-19 epidemic. Any major social upheaval always leaves the world breaking with the past in many and various ways and people having to re-imagine their lives under different circumstances. The pandemic has been just such an event and we now have an opportunity to re-evaluate everything to reflect this “whole new world”. Long-held beliefs in how things “have” to work have been upended and new trends have overtaken traditional practices. Possible long-term effects on society and individuals have yet to be solidified and these effects will cause changes in how we live, organizational policies, problem-solving and the role of the individual in society. How have things changed and what do we need to consider?
First of all, we have to accept that the world we knew pre-COVID will not likely return as the pandemic comes to an end. This has both positive and negative benefits: the good things we relied on before the epidemic may not all return and the bad things we experienced my not all disappear. Like all things in life, there will be a mix of good and bad. A good stance to take might be to have an open mind as certain things we held on to seem to crumble to be replaced by the new and unknown. Some of these innovations might be better for us and our institutions in the long run and we should give them a chance.
Secondly, the circumstance for individuals will have significantly altered and they may have quite different attitudes to work and play. The rise of the gig economy and change in organizational expectations will mean that people will possibly have more time but fewer resources to play with. This will mean more creative solutions from organizations which hope to encourage participation or support. More flexibility in how we do things may result in more opportunities to reach out to potential patrons.
Thirdly, what we do needs to be more resilient, inclusive and sustainable. The pandemic changed our view of the world and really underlined the precept that we are “all in this together”. We are connected and can no longer ignore societal issues that perhaps were minimized or even totally ignored before our world got this recent wake-up call. Our policies should now reflect our commitment to being a part of the solution and not contributing further to the problem. We can make sure that, to the extent possible, we show ourselves to be more resilient, more inclusive and do everything we can to commit ourselves and our organizations to sustainable policies.
Finally, we need to realize that the changes wrought by the pandemic will be with us in the future: we will see masks worn more commonly, remote work will be commonplace, the importance of the digital world and its role in transforming our world will continue to grow (and will need commitment from everyone to minimize its ill effects and promote “real” interactions between and among people).
The pandemic taught us once again that common problems can be overcome if we work together. As we move forward, let’s commit ourselves to a whole new world.
Robert Baird is President of BAM! Baird Artists Management Consulting in Toronto, Canada and an acknowledged expert in international touring including visas, withholding and taxation. He offers free advice to artists, agents, managers and venues and has an international clientele. He served for many years on the Executive Board of Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) and is a former Vice-President of that organization. He can be reached at: P: 1-800-867-3281 E: robert@bairdartists.com or for more information go to: www.bairdartists.com
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